1. Field of Invention
This invention mainly develops a micro magneto-controlled optical path-guiding platform. Especially, it is functioned for optical route with a high switching rate. With its tiny volume and its low mass, this invention eventually goes with microball and/or non-spherical lens array for the batch forming and the precise positioning.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As far as we know the Internet system demands a wide-band operation extremely. To overcome this insufficient bandwidth plight, the optic communication is currently recognized as an optimal solution to the wire communication, which benefits by its economy and speedy. Furthermore, an optical switch can be widely used in the optic communication and electro-optical systems. The better the optical switch preformed, the lower loss the optical transferring and transmitting. In order to get a good optical signal and ensure the Internet quality, the optical switch has to be treated as a key component of the optical communication.
Traditionally, a mechanic-optical switch is adopted to process the optical signal transformation. With its large dimension, his switching rate is also limited. Moreover, manufacturer can""t figure out a reasonable way to reduce production cost as expected. In recent years, some studies are dedicated in making the mechanic-optical switch by using MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanic System) technique. Nowadays some papers had already published as:
Lucent""s optical switch is adaptive for optical signal traveling through a small angle transformation. It owns multi-angular variation using a circular lens with two axial torque-spring mechanisms by MEMS technique. The incident optical signal will then be reflected from more than two different positions. With this specially designed lens-array, it can be functioned as a Nxc3x97M switches.
Pendulous optical switch is adaptive for optical signal traveling through a large angle transformation. On the techniques adopts a static-electrical and erect-rotate lens to gain the 1xc3x972 or On-Off switching function. A 2xc3x97 optical switch can also be manufactured with MEMS technique. Consequently, its size, weight and cost can be highly reduced by applying the fiber positioning and the microball lens with MEMS technique. Another technique makes Mxc3x97N optical switches by adopting wet-etching process, it simply fixes the traditional micro winding+iron and yoke+magnet under the cantilever beam. This mechanism then can drive the optical signal transformation with differently desired beam angles.
Although the aforementioned mechanic-opto switch owns some properties such as the wavelength distinction, the better channel isolation, the smaller sizing, the tiny mass and the lower power loss, but it still can""t solve the optical transient problem efficiently. Conclusively, its short lifecycle and un-reliability dramatically limit the practical application of the mechanic-opto switch.
Hence, the primary aim of the present invention is to solve the drawbacks described above. In order to avoid the presence of the drawbacks described above, the present invention is to provide a micro magneto-controlled optical path-guiding platform. With this invention, the optical switch can exchange the refraction ratio and the reflection ratio. Physically the optical switch achieves the swapping signal transform by varying the external magnetic field intensity. It avoids not only the transient phenomena but also features small sizing, low mass, fast switching rate and easy-made. If it goes with microball and/or non-spherical lens array, it can be implement easily using the batch forming and the precise positioning.